Museum & Art Gallery Climate Monitoring
Temperature and Humidity Monitoring for Museums and Art Galleries
Valuable paintings, sculptures, historical objects and archival materials are highly sensitive to climate conditions. The SensMax SensGuard museum environmental monitoring system helps museums, galleries and archives maintain stable temperature and humidity levels in exhibition halls, storage rooms and display cases to prevent damage and support long-term preservation.
What this solution does
SensGuard provides continuous temperature and humidity monitoring in museums and art galleries. Wireless sensors measure the microclimate near artworks, inside display cases and in storage areas and send readings to the cloud every 5 minutes. The system compares the measured values with individually defined limits for each location and alerts responsible staff if conditions drift outside the safe range.
By reacting early to deviations, conservators and facility teams can prevent problems such as mold growth, cracking of paint layers, warping of wood, corrosion of metal and deformation of paper or textile objects. The system creates a detailed climate history that can be used for conservation analysis, internal reporting and external inspections.
Where you can use it
- Exhibition halls and galleries – monitoring climate around paintings, sculptures and temporary exhibitions.
- Storage rooms and archives – controlling conditions for stored collections, paper, textiles and photographic materials.
- Glass display cases – tracking microclimate near particularly sensitive objects.
- Entrance zones and transitional spaces – supervising areas exposed to outdoor climate changes.
- Historic interiors – preserving furniture, wooden elements and decorative objects in heritage buildings.
Wireless temperature and humidity sensors installed discreetly near artworks and in display areas.
How the SensGuard system works
The museum climate monitoring system uses compact wireless sensors placed close to artworks or in representative locations in the room. Sensors record temperature and relative humidity every 5 minutes and send data to the SensMax TCP LR X2 gateway, which transmits it to the SensGuard cloud platform.
For each sensor you can configure an individual allowed temperature and humidity range and a permitted violation time. This makes it possible to distinguish between short, harmless fluctuations (for example, when visitors enter a room) and long-term deviations that may endanger the collection. When a limit is exceeded for longer than allowed, the system sends an alert via e-mail and Telegram messenger to the responsible staff.
SensGuard architecture for temperature and humidity monitoring in museums and art galleries.
Wireless sensors operate from nonflammable internal batteries with a typical lifetime of up to 5 years. One data gateway can collect statistics from up to 250 sensors within a range of up to 150 m (extendable to 500 m with signal repeaters). Integrated buffer memory in the gateway prevents data loss during temporary Internet connectivity failures.
Hardware used in this solution
SensMax offers several wireless temperature and humidity sensors suitable for museum and gallery environments. Compact housings and wireless communication allow unobtrusive installation near artworks without additional cabling.
| Device | Type | Temperature range | Accuracy | Resolution | Battery / Power | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCP9800 wireless temperature sensor | Waterproof sensor | −20°C…+55°C | ±0.5°C | 0.1°C | up to 5 years | General room temperature monitoring in exhibition halls and storage rooms. |
| ENS210 wireless temperature & humidity sensor | Temperature & humidity sensor | −20°C…+55°C / 0–100% RH | ±0.5°C / ±3.5% RH | 0.1°C | up to 5 years | Combined temperature and humidity monitoring near sensitive artworks and archival materials. |
| DS18B20 probe-type wireless temperature sensor | Probe sensor | −30°C…+120°C | ±0.5°C | 0.1°C | up to 5 years | Special installations where the probe must be placed inside display cases or behind panels. |
Reporting and conservation documentation
The SensGuard monitoring system stores all temperature and humidity readings, alarms and user comments in a central database. This provides a complete climate history for each exhibition hall, storage room or display case, helping conservators to analyse environmental conditions over weeks, months or years.
Data can be exported as CSV files or PDF reports for internal conservation reports, insurance documentation or external audits. Long-term records help to demonstrate that climate conditions have remained within agreed limits and support decisions about exhibition planning and storage improvements.
Recommended configuration for a typical museum or gallery
- 10–40 wireless temperature and humidity sensors, depending on the number of exhibition halls, storage rooms and showcases.
- 1–2 SensMax TCP LR X2 gateways with LAN/Internet connection.
- SensGuard cloud access for conservators, curators, facility managers and security staff.
- Automatic notifications via e-mail and Telegram messenger for on-duty personnel.
SensGuard cloud software for museums and galleries
The SensGuard online portal is a cloud-based application with a multi-user interface. Users can:
- see actual temperature and humidity readings for each sensor or sensor group;
- view full history of events and climate trends for selected periods;
- set individual min/max parameters and alarm settings for each sensor;
- place sensors on an interactive museum or gallery map to quickly identify problematic areas;
- configure individual notification schedules for different user roles.
Dashboard view showing temperature and humidity status across exhibition halls and storage rooms.
Detailed microclimate measurements with focus on sensitive artworks and display cases.
Sensor list with real-time readings, alert indicators and threshold settings for each monitored area.
Climate history and trend charts used for conservation analysis and long-term documentation.
